


Remember Me

by Bananabishes



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Sad with a Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-10-04 13:40:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17305619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bananabishes/pseuds/Bananabishes
Summary: Ash had felt an instant bond with Shorter the moment their eyes had met.  He had always wondered if there was a greater reason behind their connection. Ash was soon going to learn just how accurate his hunch was when Eiji comes barelling into his life and shattering the illusion of the perfect world he had come to know.





	1. Chapter 1

For as long as Eiji can remember he has had a sorrow so endless within him, that it could challenge the never-ending galaxies. He has never been present in this life, never been fully immersed in his surroundings, for what was the point when he had already lost his purpose, before he had even been given the chance to find it. 

 

***

 

Ash was adopted when he was six months old after the unfortunate passing of his mother a few months after he was born. Weakened from a complicated birth, she caught pneumonia when Ash was only two months old. 

Ash’s mother herself was put into the system as a child due to her father being an unknown junky and her Mother having died from an overdose. So when Ash's mother passed away, there was no family to speak of to take care of her kids. 

Max and his wife Jessica adopted him and his older brother Griffin only three months after the passing of their mother. Max and Jessica lived in the same town, which is how they had heard about the two young boys in need of a home. 

The boys and their new family stayed in the same town for approximately 3 years before Max decided that he had had enough of the rumours going around about his family. After finally making the decision to leave, Max was offered a job opportunity in Japan. It was not long after that Max moved his family to the suburbs of Tokyo, that Ash and Shorter met for the first time. 

Ash and Shorter had a strong connection from the very first instant they had met. They constantly joked about how they must have known each other in their previous lives as a way to explain the instant connection both of the boys felt the moment their eyes first connected.

Both of the boys remember the first time they met so clearly it was like it was yesterday. That meeting had been such a pivotal moment in their life that every time they looked back, they could remember their first meeting as if it were yesterday. 

The two boys spent years exploring together.  
It had been on one of their many adventures that they discovered a quaint little coffee shop, about a 20 minute walk from their house. They had been out on their scooters, when it had decided to pour sheets of rain. The boys started roaring around to look for somewhere to get out of the torrential downpour. They remembered that not far up ahead there were a few small businesses that had recently opened. 

Ash and Shorter bolted into the first place they could find, which happened to be the little coffee shop. As the 9 and 10 year olds stumbled into the small building - completely soaked to the bone and laughing so hard they had stitches - the lady who owned the shop took one look at them, then ran into the back for towels. After she has introduced herself as Nadia, she sat the drenched Ash and Shorter down near the fireplace and forced them to accept some hot tea and biscuits until the rain had settled. They continued to return to the coffee shop ever since. 

~~~

When Ash and Shorter walk into the coffee shop, they feel the familiar warmth and aroma of brewing coffee and freshly baked goods come rush forward to engulf them with a sense of familiarity. 

They were only a few steps in when Ash heard a shocked gasp. Out of the corner of his eye he catches a glimpse of a shape hurtling towards the two of them. The impact sends them back a few steps as two arms wrap around both him and Shorter. Looking down he can see the trembling figure of a boy about their age.

Ash stands there for a few moments in a shocked silence. He suddenly is struck with just how oddly familiar this was. The feeling of this raven haired boy's arms wrapped tightly around both him and Shorter is causing his heartbeat to speed up and his blood to rush up to his face. Ash looked over to Shorter to see a look of confusion and a similar dusting on pink. 

It was at this moment that Shorter, having apparently gotten over the shock of being pulled into a hug by a seemingly random boy, decided to pipe in with, “Well, this is definitely the most enthusiastic welcome we have received here so far”. That brought Ash out of his momentary daze and back to the reality of how odd it was that a boy, who neither of them knew, had just flung his arms around both of them.

Ash's attention snapped back to the boy when he heard him take a deep breath right before he took a few steps back. The boy had a look of total and utter glee, with bright teary eyes. His eyes were searching the taller boy's faces expectantly. Ash felt it like a punch to the gut as he watched the face of the boy quickly morph into a look of shock and defeat. Because the second the boy before them took in their the looks on their faces, the second he saw their baffled expressions, he knew that they had absolutely no clue who he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyy thank you all for reading my very first fanfic XP. Its the results of my soul being shattered by Banana Fish. I'd like to give a quick shout out to Musi/Asher for posting this prompt in our discord and I'd also like to thank Hulk and Zhadyra for all the support and also reading through and editing. UwU


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyy, so, I'm back .....eight months later ....heh heh heh. Um, so ya, the usual stuff, writer's block, life happened, and then good old procrastination. I ended up changing the perspective and switched it to present tense, which meant I ended up re-writing the second half of the first chapter. But ya, here is it 😁

He watched as the boy went through an array of emotions, and he couldn't help but feel baffled. When the boy originally looked up at Ash and Shorter, he had the most elated expression Ash has ever seen. As his eyes frantically search their faces, his expression turned into one of realisation and disappointment, which quickly became panic and total embarrassment. 

Ash could only stand there in shock as the boy yankes himself away and sputters out an apology, something about his impertinence, and makes a hasty retreat into the back. With the boy was out of sight, he brought his attention back to Shorter who, Ash would tell from a glance, also had no clue what that all had been about. 

Shorter came to his senses first, and after a glance at Ash, he starts making his way towards the baked goods display. Nadia starts walking over from her spot near the ovens, she was also looking rather bewildered after the scene she has just witnessed. She looked us over, obviously not too sure of what to say. "That was ...um ...are you guys ok?" It was clear that she really didn't know what to say, just like the rest of them. "I really don't know what got into him, he normally is quite, I guess you could say, reserved. He really must have thought you guys looked like someone he knew" 

Ash briefly wonders what they are like, the guys they were mistaken for. They must be very important to him, judging by his actions at least. But if they are so important, why is it that Ash got the feeling that the boy hasn't seen them in a long time. 

Shorter confirms for Nadia that they didn't, in fact, know him. He asks her who he was since they have never seen him here before.

“It's only his third day working at the bakery. He seems like a very nice kid, though rather on the quiet side. All he told me was that he recently moved here from Tokyo with a family friend. There was something about having gotten an injury, I hope it wasn't anything too severe.”

Ash suddenly saw that the boy was standing awkwardly off to the side. Ash didn't doubt that he had probably heard some of what they had been talking about. Which is probably why he looked so unsure of what to do with himself. Ash noted that he looked a lot more composed than he had 5 minutes prior. His face was only slightly tinted pink at this point, and there were, thankfully, no more tears threatening to sneak free. 

Nadia must have noticed that Ash’s attention had been drawn elsewhere and followed it to the new boy. She waved him over to the till, mentioning something about cookies in the oven just before she walked away. 

The boy looks at them sheepishly, “I can't apologize enough about earlier, for a moment there, I thought you were someone who used to know me”. He's shuffling around a little awkwardly, obviously still embarrassed over the incident. 

Ash instinctively wanted to make him feel at ease so he told him not to worry, that these things happen. He didn't seem too sure but was definitely relieved that his apology was accepted so easily. "My name is Ash and the eggplant head over here is Shorter", he says while gesturing to his purple haired partner. 

“My name is Eiji”, he says while trying to not laugh at the look of faux betrayal Shorter is giving Ash. “Is there anything I get for you guys to eat or drink?”. Still smiling over the interaction, they give Eiji they're orders.

Once their drinks are ready, they head on over to their usual seat in the corner. It's a small table right beside the window with a nearby fire. 

Ash starts to think out loud once they get settled in. “There is something about Eiji that I just can't put my finger on, he somehow seems oddly familiar.” He quietly says while stirring way too much sugar into his latte. “I can't help but want to get to know him”. Glancing up from his overly sweet late, his eyes catch Shorter's for just a moment before he looks back down.

Ash is busy staring off into his coffee when Shorter puts his hand down beside Ash's, the edges of their pinkies touching ever so slightly. The fact that such a small action can still cause a flutter of excitement in Ash's stomach after all this time leaves him unable and unwilling to hide the soft blush and smile from forming on his face.

He looks back up and Shorter catches his eyes again with a soft smile, "There is something about him that I'm drawn to too, something about him that just kinda reminds me of…" he fades off. Looking a little surprised himself at what he was about to say.

Taking Shorter's hand in his, Ash looks fully into Shorter's eyes and says, "It reminds me of the first moment we met".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading uwu. The chapters will probably start to get bigger once the story gets rollin 😁. I'm hoping to update much more regularly from now on out. I'd also like to quickly thank the amaizing Clarinda for betaing this chapter, as well as my bestie, Gottaluvdemsnekhips, who helped motivate me to get off my ass and start writing.


End file.
